Begin Again
by Shelberrrz
Summary: I could see her more clearly now. When she passed out, I managed to clean most of the blood from her face and rid her of her dirty jacket. She shook her head, a tinge of a smile forming on her lips to reassure me, but I continued to speak, "Don't. Don't tell me that it's not my fault. Because I feel responsible. I shouldn't have left you there. " - Michonne/Andrea Femslash M


Hellooooo. So, the season finale made me beyond depressed, because I was looking forward to Andrea going back to the prison and being a part of the family once again. Also, I was longing for my OTP to get together. Since THAT'S obviously never gonna happen, I thought I'd write it the way I wanted to see it happen. Here is my version of the post-season finale.

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**Begin Again**

The exhaustion had embraced Andrea's entire body, rendering her becalmed on the bottom bunk, absorbed by an abysmal sleep. Even though we were no longer in the woods and I no longer needed to protect her, I felt obligated to keep an eye on her, even within the safety of the prison walls. I owed it to her, and so much more than that. As I sat in the corner of the cell cleaning the extensive blade of my katana, I kept thinking about the pond of blood permeating beneath the door and how in that moment I was enraged at myself for the decisions I had made. For a concise, brutalizing moment I found myself doubting her fortitude before coming to apprehend… it wasn't her blood, and she wasn't dead. The woman who had stood by me for so long, the woman I left behind, was alive. Seeing her like that, all battered and bruised and in pain, it first made me angry—angry because that bastard did this to her. Remorse took over from there, because if only I had stayed there to protect her when I _knew_ something wasn't right about that place, this might not have happened to her. I felt as though this was my fault. Now I had to wait for her to wake up after her much needed rest so I could express to her how regretful I was.

I remained there for hours, even after the others had all gone to their cells for the night. I don't quite recall when I fell asleep, but I was awakened by a tender, unsteady voice early that morning. My brown eyes flickered open only to be greeted by the petty twinge in my neck from sleeping against the wall. I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes until I could make out Andrea's silhouette sitting upright on the bottom bunk through the darkness.

"Michonne…" she repeated my name, her murmur a bit more audible this time, "what are you doing over there?"

I cleared my throat, unsure of what to say at first, but I knew I had to say something, "What I should've done a long time ago."

"What do you mean?" Of course she'd be a bit perplexed by my answer.

I slowly rose from the dusty, concrete floor, but I didn't move any closer to my friend. I stood in the same place, trying to find the right words to explain, "He hurt you."

"Michonne, I'm fine—" she started in a soft, reassuring tone, but I wouldn't let her finish.

"If I had been there, I wouldn't have let this happen to you," my voice was stern, but quiet, as I began to approach the bunk, stopping a few feet from her bedside. I could see her more clearly now. When she passed out, I managed to clean most of the blood from her face and rid her of her dirty jacket. She shook her head, a tinge of a smile forming on her lips to reassure me, but I continued to speak, "Don't. Don't tell me that it's not my fault. Because I feel responsible. I shouldn't have left you there. _Especially_ not when I had my suspicions about that place. I can't even begin to express to you how sorry I—"

"Hey," I felt my words catch in my throat, but not because she spoke up. Because of her hand. She'd reached out and touched mine with cool fingertips, and I had to avert my eyes from her gaze to look down at her pale skin contrasting against mine to avoid the eye contact, "I should have listened to you." After her admission, I let my chocolate orbs twitch back toward her features as she continued, "I should have trusted your judgment. It seemed safe enough to me and… I was just _so_ tired of running. I thought it could be a place for us to finally be safe. Yes… he hurt me, but if it's anyone's fault, it's my own. Please… don't blame yourself."

She stroked her thumb over my flesh, but my impulses led me to pull my hand away and to take another step back so she couldn't reach me, regardless of how comforting her contact was. Dark eyes lingered on her, rage taking over my features, "We're gonna find him. And I promise you, when we do, I'm gonna make him wish he'd never been born," with that, I turned away from her to retreat back to my corner, sitting back down.

"You realize there's another bunk here, right?" I could tell by hesitation and the tone of her voice that she was unsure of how to respond to what I said. I knew she didn't want anyone to die, but I also knew that she wanted him dead. If she didn't, she would have said otherwise, "I'm safe now. You don't have to watch me."

I knew she was right. But I didn't feel comfortable with taking my eyes off of her just yet, and I didn't want to have to explain why. "Go back to sleep. You need to rest."

It took a few moments, and possibly a roll of those blue eyes, but finally I noticed Andrea's silhouette fade into the mattress as she laid back down.


End file.
